Thursday, August 24, 2017

When San Francisco 49ers quarterback
Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem last year, some conservatives
boycotted the National Football League.

Angry at what they saw as unpatriotic
behavior, veterans and others rallied around the hashtag #BoycottNFL. Sen. Ted
Cruz, Republican of Texas, tweeted: “Here’s a peaceful protest: never buy
another shoe, shirt, or jersey of rich spoiled athletes who dishonor our flag.”

Now the tables have turned.

The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP recently
asked fans to boycott the NFL and a group of black pastors in Alabama released
a video calling for a blackout of NFL games until a team signs Kaepernick.

Kaepernick kneeled during the anthem to
protest police brutality against blacks. Other athletes joined in, and the
protests have continued in the pre-season, with white players taking part. A
free agent, Kaepernick hasn’t been signed for the season that begins Sept. 7.

A huge crowd of Kaepernick supporters
protested outside NFL offices in New York Wednesday, contending owners have blackballed
him for his activism, which the league denies.

This is the age of voting with our
wallets.

Fans of Donald Trump boycotted
Budweiser over its inspirational Super Bowl ad praising immigrants. Trump’s foes
boycotted L. L. Bean after the granddaughter of the company’s founder
contributed to his campaign and Trump urged people to “Buy L.L. Bean.”

People similarly shopped or stayed
away from Macy’s and Nordstrom after the stores dumped some Trump merchandise.
Social media and sites like grab-your-wallet.com, which lists stores that carry
Trump merchandise, give boycotts more exposure.

“I don’t think I’ve
ever seen as many boycotts announced in a short period of time,” says Brayden
King, professor of management and organizations at Northwestern
University.

Boycotts -- more than marching in the
streets or firing off an angry screed on social media -- make us feel powerful.
There’s something immensely satisfying about just saying no and walking away.

Only one problem: Boycotts typically don’t
accomplish much.

Not all are failures. The Montgomery
(Ala.) bus boycott started in December 1955 and lasted 13 months. It ended when
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation on public buses unconstitutional.

Viewership of NFL games on TV
networks dipped last year, but the national anthem protest was only one reason,
a J.D. Power survey of fans found. Off-field domestic violence and the presidential
campaign were also factors.

Experts say boycotts fail because there
are too many of them, our attention span is short and we simply don’t like to
be told what not to do or buy. A boycott perversely can generate more sales for
the item being boycotted.

Despite Uber’s many PR catastrophes
and boycotts, its gross bookings and number of trips taken have risen,
according to news reports.

Rather than judge a boycott’s impact
on sales, it may be better to judge its media attention, King said.

Several Kennedy Center Honors award
winners announced they’d boycott the pre-ceremony reception at the White House
or the event itself. They include hit singer
Gloria Estefan, TV producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade.

The president and first lady announced
they’ll stay away “to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political
distraction,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

At least 20 charities
reportedly have dropped plans to hold galas at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s resort in
Florida. Among the big names that have canceled: American Red Cross, America
Cancer Society, Cleveland Clinic and the Salvation Army.

“Charities hosting large galas can pay Trump's club between
$125,000 and $275,000 for a single night's revelry. Even lunchtime events can
cost charities between $25,000 and $85,000,” The Washington Post reported.

Why charitable organizations choose such
pricey locales for their fund-raising events, even if they do raise big bucks,
is a question for another day. But the cancellations do send a message of
disapproval to others inclined to book Mar-a-Largo.

“If you have a conscience, you’re really
condoning bad behavior by continuing to be there,” Laurel Baker, executive
director of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, told the Palm Beach Post.

The boycott affects a prized Trump
property, and that’s a sure way to grab the businessman’s attention.

But will it change the president’s policies?
That will be the true measure of the boycott’s success.